Stones of Stonehenge

Guest Author - Lauren D´Silva

Preseli Bluestone comes from Wales and is the stone that the legendary Stonehenge stone circle is made from. Why did the ancients bother to transport huge stones hundreds of miles when they could have used more local rock?

At the 2008 Crystals Conference in Exeter Sue Lilly treated us to some of the knowledge she has gathered about the actions of this special stone, Stonehenge itself and the function of other ancient monuments in Britain.

Preseli Bluestone is a form of dolorite, a deep volcanic rock. It is only found in the Preseli Mountains in Pembrokeshire, Wales. One of its characteristics is its exceptional hardness. Sue posed the question, ‘How did they know they needed dolorite?’ If you look at the surface texture of the Preseli Bluestone it is dull and grey. Nothing special to the eye really. Yet polished Bluestone is more enticing with light reflecting sparkles that remind one of a ‘midnight sky’.

Bluestone has certainly stood the test of time at Stonehenge. Would the builders have had a need for stones that would last virtually unweathered for thousands of years? Would they have had a concept of eternity perhaps? They must have had a compelling reason to shift 19 huge blocks of stone weighing up to four tons a piece across the landscape. Legend has it that Britain’s archmage, Merlin, was behind the movement of the stones, levitating them across the country. It certainly sounds more feasible than shifting such immense rocks so far without the aid of modern machinery! Such a feat has left archaeologists perplexed.

The stones made of Preseli Bluestone form the central horseshoe of the stone circle. Sue explained that if all the inner circle stones were still in place and you stood outside of the circle you would not be able to see inside. Perhaps the Bluestones gave a sense of privacy for the rites that were carried out within them and kept ‘ordinary folk’ from gazing upon the mysteries?

Sue feels that the energy of the inner circle ‘goes quiet’, that natural energy lines that run across the landscape get ‘bent’ around the space and that this unusual effect on the energy would have kept animals out too. She has found that music, especially percussion, brings the space within the stone circle alive. Do the stones vibrate to the energy of sound, was sound the way their power could be activated?

It seems entirely plausible to me that the placement of stones at Stonehenge creates a sacred space which has an entirely different feel to the world outside. Those that work with energy in modern times will recognise that we can make an area that contains the energies for our spiritual work and most often that space is within a circle. We are keeping sacred separate from the profane. Fortunately we don’t have to move tons of rock to do this, but then our spaces are not quite as permanent or quite as powerful!

Interestingly the bedrock beneath Stonehenge is one of the softest of stones- chalk. Sue has experimented with Preseli Bluestone and chalk and found that a ‘battery’ like effect is created. Perhaps this is the key to the Preseli Bluestones at the heart of Stonehenge, building and containing energy much stronger than the surrounding land?

What is well known is that Stonehenge works as a solar calendar aligned to the Midsummer and Midwinter solstices. Less recognised is that the inner stones are a lunar calendar, aligned by a 19 year eclipse cycle of the Moon. The astounding fact is that it is still accurate thousands of years later to within .03 of a day! Perhaps the Circle unifies the masculine and feminine, the energies of Sun and Moon, God and Goddess?

Sue and Simon Lilly were approached by the modern owners of the Preseli Bluestone quarry to research the metaphysical properties of the stone. Their findings, reached with help from their students, are summarised in The Essential Crystal Handbook. One of the key effects which interests me is to connect us with the distant past.

My own experience of holding Bluestone was to feel a lifting of my energies. Meditating with the energy brought me into a vision of Druidic rites within the Stonehenge circle- probably not surprising!

Supplies of the stone are limited as it is quarried responsibly. You probably won’t find it in your local crystal store, but if you would like to experiment with the energy you can order direct from Stonehenge Stones who own the rights to the original quarry in Pembrokeshire.